putnam



E. I. PUTNAM.

CONCRETE CAR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLTCATION mEn Nov. 14, 191B- Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

E. j. PUTNAM.

CONCRETE CAR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATloN FILED Nov. 14. 1918.

1,374,1 1 1. Paten-1aed Apr. 5, 1921.

5 SHEETS*SHEET, 2.

Emma J, Pu www@ E. J. PUTNAM.

CONCRETE CAR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. I4, 191s.

1,374, l1 l Patented Apr. 5, Im

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

simi/immo E. j. PUTNAM.

CONCRETE CAR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATTON HLED Nov.14,1918.

1,374,1 l 1. Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

5 SHEF'TS-SHEET 4A V'Www i PatentedrlApr. 5, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

I X Y I X X I I PUTNAM.

CONCRETE CAR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-14,191r

attoznw www J. Pu WIW/g futurs-D i STATES PATENT .ioFFlciE.

EDWARD .TENNEss PUTNAM, or ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

To all whom t may concern.' 1

Be it knownthat LEDWARD J. PUTNAM, a citizen ofthe United States,residing at Atlantain`the county `of Fulton and Sttate of Georgia," haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in` Concrete CarConstructions, of which the following is a specification.

`This invention relatesto railway rolling stock, and-more particularlyto an improved concrete car construction especially adapted for freightuse.`

i The problem of providing freight cars of maximum serviceability has.long been a diflicult one, and while it has been the general practiceheretofore to construct freight cars of both `wood and steel, theexceedingly high demand for both of these materials in other fieldsrenders it especially desirable that some other means be resorted tointhebuilding of freight carrying railway rolling stock. Although it hasbeen heretofore proposed to construct cars of concrete, no substantialadvances have been made forthe` development of this type of car, but,owing to the unusual condition of the raw material market with respectto the availability of materials for building cargo carrying `vehiclesand ships the use of concrete in thisffield promises to be of greatimportance;

Accordingly, the present invention has primarily in view a concrete carconstruction which has the advantage of being read-4 ily and quicklyconstructed from materials available in the open market, and without theaid of highly skilled or expert labor, thus materially reducing theproduction cost, and at the same time. providing a construction ofmaximum strength, stability and lightness..`

Aspecial` object'` aside from the foregoing general object.` is toprovide a fabricated car structure" which includes a self-sustainingmetallicmeshed-fabric frame,` or in 4other words, `a frame whichrequiresl no special studding or likeV form-work which would add to theweight of the completed` car structure and `also would `materiallycontribute to its cost. `Thus, the presentin- 'r ventionj fundamentallydiffers from structures which employ a more or less rigid form-Work ofI-beams or other metalshapes or strips about which the balance of thestructureis fabricated.

l Speecaton of Letters Patent.

`coivcniii'rn CAR coNsTaUcTIoN.

patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Application filed November 14, 1918. Serial No. 262,497.

With the above and other objects .in view which will more readily appearasA the nature of the invention is `better understood, the same consistsin the novel construction, combination and arrangement of partshereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed. i

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side elevation of aconcrete car constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the iioor, illus.

trating the general character of the bed frame-work in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the linel 3 3of Fig. l.;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail horizontal section "of the side of the carbody, illustrating the construction at the side of the doorV frame whichcarries the stop abutment` for the sliding door, the latter also beingpartly shown.

A Fig. `5 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional view of `the upperand lower corner portions of one side of the car body taken at the pointwhere the doors occur therein; Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail elevation,partly in `section taken at the lower corner .of one of the doors, andshowing the reinforced expanded metal structure employed in fabricatingthe present car construction. Fig. 'r' is a detailcross sectional viewtaken onthe line 7--7 of Fig. 5 showing the interlocking or interlittingof the reinforcing expanded metal units.

f `Similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures Iof the drawings.

As previously indicated, one of the objects set` forth :in producing afabricated concrete car `structure islto effect a saving of woodandsteel almost universally em` ployed for this purpose in the past, and atthe same time obtain the benefit of the many advantages which areincident to a concrete structure. That is `to say, cars built ofconcrete not only have the advantage of being much lighter and cheaperthan of steel and stronger and more fire-proof than of wood, but theexpense usually incurred in painting the exposed surface of these carsto protect them from the weather is entirelyeliminated with a greatsaving,

Q y Y 1,374,111

` while at the same time no interior bolts,

braces or other projections are leftto in any way menace the contents ofthe cars. In` the event of the concrete shell becoming damaged it may beeasily and quickly re-v paired without the necessity of sending the lLcar to the repair shop, and in the cases of element of construction asmall-mesh expanded sheet metal form permitting of the proposedeconomical system of concrete car construction without form-work. ThiseX- panded sheet metal form is intended to entirely dispense with anyand all character of form-work, and to constitute itself the shape orform about which the concrete structure is fabricated, while at the sametime providing substantial and necessary reinforcement and an extensivearea of effective keys for the concrete. In other words the use of thesmall-mesh expanded sheet metal product as the form and main supportingelement of the concrete car body permits of the utilization of saidproduct to give the necessary shape to the car structure, and at thesame time carry a substantial line of reinforcement in directions tobest withstand the shocks and strains incident to the use of the car.Also thel product or material referred to provides a large keying areafor bonding the concrete throughout the entire structure. Thesedesirable features in a fabricated car body construction are renderedpossible by the general character of the said product which primarily ismade up of a series of substantially U-shaped high-ribs connected byintervening areas of expanded metal of relatively small diamond mesh. A

' By reference to Figs. 4 and 6 of the drawings the character of thisform material may be more clearly observed. It will be seen that thesame vconsists of the solid or imperforate high-ribs a suitably spacedapart and connected by an open diamond mesh metal fabric b whichprovides an extensive keying surface giving a perfect bond for theconcrete and. at the same time insuring .the greatest reinforcing value,diffusing strain from concentrated loads, and by its perfect continuityalso insures that all of the metal therein is in tension. Thissmall-mesh material, by reason of these characteristics and theformation which permits of sheets thereof being interlccked at the sidesand ends is capable of utilization in suoli a manner that it isself-sustaining. That is, the said material is capable of taking andkeeping the form of the vertically disposed car wall, roof and iioor,without the aid of special studding, the longitudinally disposed ribs ofthe material itself constituting all the necessary reinforcement andperforming all of the functions of studding or like framework. Tofurther strengthen the material in its set-up condition and preventlateral separation, the crowns of the ribs (L may be suitably notched asat c to receive the lateral or cross ties (l .which may be spot weldedor otherwise suitably secured to the ribs (L, at the notches (see Figs.5 and G).

Referring now to the general structural features and characteristics ofthe present construction which utilizes the novel plasticmaterialholding and reinforcing structure previously described, it will bcobserved from Figs. 2 and 3 that it is proposed to construct a bed framedesignated generally as F of suitable longitudinal reinforced concreteside beams 1 with an intermediate longitudinal beam 2 of similarconstruction. These side and intermediate beams l and 2 may be connectedas shown in Figs. 2 and 3 with the cross beams 3 also of reinforcedconcrete. Proper provision is made in forming the bed frame foraccommodating the draw bar construction as indicated by the sockets 4tFig. 2, and also accommodating the master pivots 5 of the usual eartrucks. Accordingly, it will be apparent that the entire bed frame ofthe car may be constructed of reinforced concrete` and upon this bedframe is erected the entire fabricated superstructure which constitutesthe car body proper. Although the construction shown in the drawings isthat of a box car` it will of course be readily understood by thosefamiliar with the art that the same principles of construction may beapplied with equal facility to gondolas, tank and other cars.

Upon the bed frame F it is proposed to lay the interlccked sheets orsections of reinforced expanded metal material designated generally asM, the same consisting of a plurality of the longitudinally disposedarched rib portions and the intervening diamond mesh strands, and thenupon this material, which is laid with the crowns of the ribs downward,are placed longitudinally of the car suitable sleepers (l, whereby afterthe floor section of the car has been filled with a body 6 of concrete asuitable floor surface 7 may be laid thereon. This floor surface may beof the usual wood flooring or it may be of concrete with suitablereinforcement laid at right angles to the sleepers 6, according to thetype of car lOll PJ A

being-l built, and other requirements of the "car buildersspecifications.

j Upon the floorrsection, the side and end sections S ofthe car may bebuilt, the same consisting of the expandedm'etal form S consisting of aplurality of interlocked sheets of the mesh material previouslydescribed, theribs of which are disposed outwardly and preferablyconnected by the `cross tie members d Fig. 6. That is to say,

the wallsof the car may be formed of laterally interlocked ribbedexpanded metal sections whose arched ribs interlock at their lower endwith the ribs of the upturned ends of the reinforcement of the bottomsection.

In building the said `side sections it is proposed toprovide doorwaysadjacent each end of the car as shown in Fig. l of thei drawings.Thisarrangement of doors has the advantage of `giving vthe intermediateportion `of the car between the trucks greater strength, and at the sametime facilitates loading and unloading of the car contents.

. Furthermore this arrangement permits of loading poles, shafts, or thelike of substantially the entire length of the car `since the doors onboth sides of the car may be utin lized in shifting the pieces insuch amanner thatfthey may be readily placedwithin the car.

The door ways D are preferably steel frames properly anchored to theexpanded metal `side walls and include the` relatively wide door-sills8., The arcuate reinforcing plates 9which extend 'around the entirebottomy edge vof the car also serve to prevent the chipping of theconcrete which would otherwise be exposed at this point to loading andunloading operations. ,j Suitable metallic door supporting tracks andrails 10 and l1 may be employed whereby doors l2 of the same generalconstruction of the car body may be readily used. The said rails 10 andll may be secured to the plates 9 by any suitable and convenientfastening means such as screws, bolts or the like, and this said plates9 may be held in position by the aid of lugs or other suitable anchoringdevices which maybe embedded in the concrete of the floor of the car.

The top or roof section R of the car is also formed of the diamond meshex oanded metal material of which the body anc doors are formed 'butwith the ribs thereof upstanding, and as shown it is proposed toI givethe material forming the roof section a substantially arched formation(see Figs. 3 and 5) whereby the ends R of the troughed or arched ribs ofthe roof section may readily interiit with the similar or outstandingribs of the side sections and thus provide an effective joint.Obviously, L owing to the ribbed formation of the expanded metalmaterial used, both the floor and roof sections of expanded metalmaterial may be readily interlocked at their meeting ends, and with theaid of suitable fastening clips w'ellknown to theart or even wire ofsuitable gage,`the entire fabricated metal structure Amay be held inplace without the aid of any special wooden frame-work or other support.The entire fabricated metal structure may be readily assembled byworkmen simply placing lthev various properly shaped sections ofmaterialinto position and fasteningzthem together initially with .clips orWires, and finally by the cross tie rods CZ previously referred to.

Afterthe entire metallic meshed-form is thus erected it is proposed tocover and fill the same in the well-known manner with a plastic materialsuch as concrete. This material will readily remain in place owing tothe extensive key surface provided by the relatively small diamond meshfabric which constitutes the base and form to which the plastic materialis applied. `In practice the concrete surface preferably consists of twolayers, one applied to the exterior side of the material and the otheron the inner side, the outer layer being applied first and the inner orunder layer being applied after the first layer has thoroughly set. Thisprocedure however may be varied as desired or required. y j Withoutfurther description it is thought that the many features and advantagesof the .present concrete car construction `will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art, andw it will 'of course be` understood thatslight changes in the minorv details of construction may beresorted towithout` departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

l. A fabricated concrete car structure comprising a metallic form havingprojecting reinforcing ribs and expanded small metal fabric sectionsconnecting the ribs, and a concrete envelop.

2. A fabricatbd concrete car structure comprising a metallicmeshed-fabric forni having reinforcing ribs projecting downwardly at thebottom part of the body, and a concrete envelop.

3. A fabricated concrete car structure comprising a Vmetallicmeshed-fabric form having vertical outstanding reinforcing ribs at thesides of the body, and a concrete" envelop.

4. A fabricated concrete car structure comprising a metallicmeshed-fabric form having upstanding ribs at the top of the body, and aconcrete envelop. l

A fabricated concrete car structure comprising a metallic form having aseries of projecting imperforate reinforcing ribs and expandedsmall-mesh fabric sections connecting the ribs, and a concrete envelop.

6. A fabricated concrete car structure `7. A fabricated concrete carstructure including afloor section consisting of a metallicmeshed-fabrie form having downwardly projecting reinforcing high ribs, aconcrete filling on top of said form, and a surfacing flooring arrangedon said concrete filling. l

8. A fabricated concrete car structure consisting of a metallic skeletonframe com prising floor., side, end, and roof sections of expanded metalhaving spaced arched rib portions whereby the terminal ends of saidseveral sections may interfit, means for connecting the crown portionsof adjacent ribs of the-expanded metal material to brace the samelaterally, and a plastic covering for said metallic skeleton frame.

9. A fabricated concrete car structure including a bed frame, a flooringbase including ribbed expanded metal plastic keying means, a metallicskeleton frame including side, end and roof sections, and a concretecovering for said frame. v

. 10. A fabricated concrete car structure including a reinforcedconcrete bed frame, a

members and ribbed expanded metal plastic keying means, and aself-sustaining metallic body frame supported on said base, saidmetallic body frame consisting of relatively small mesh expanded metalsheets having integral regularly spaced arched longitudinally disposedreinforcing ribs adapted to interfit with the ribs of adjacent sheets,means for connecting the crowns of the ribs to brace the same laterally,and a concrete covering forvsaid self-sustaining body.

l2. A fabricated concrete ear structure including a reinforced concretebed frame, a

.said sheets being curved upwardly, sleeper members laid upon thediamond mesh side of the ribbed expanded metal sheets, a concretecovering for said sleeper members and the ribbed expanded metal sheetsof the flooring base, self-sustaining side sections also of ribbedexpanded metal supported. upon and interitting with the upturned ribs ofthe iooring base section, metallic door frames positioned in the sidesections, a roof section consisting of laterally interlocked sheets ofribbed expanded metal also interloekedat the ends with the ribs of thevertically disposed side section, and a concrete covering for the saidside and roof section.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

EDWARD JENNESS PUTNAM.

Witnesses: x

L. G. BERRY j Mrs. R. B. lJEwIs.

